1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to systems for managing and allocating shelf space among rows of products. More particularly, the present invention is directed to integrated shelf allocation management systems accommodating varying product sizes easily.
2. Description of the Background
In retail stores, such as grocery stores, products are displayed on shelves for customers to inspect and select. To attract customers to a particular product and/or to facilitate a convenient shopping experience, products are preferably organized in an orderly fashion on the store shelves. Moreover, because wasted shelf space wastes money, the products should efficiently use shelf space.
For orderly presentation to customers, products may be divided into rows with dividers between rows so that each product row remains confined to a designated area and does not shift or cross over into another row.
Additionally, vendors prefer to move the products to the front of the shelf so that the customer may easily view the products or reach them for purchase. If the products are hidden at the back of the shelf, the customer may not see or be able to reach them resulting in potential loss of sales.
Some traditional systems employ dividers that are separately attached to either the shelf itself or to locating strips that run lengthwise along the front of the shelf. Due to the separated nature of the dividers, these systems lack the structural stability of an integrated unit in which both side walls are joined by a base piece. As a result, the dividers may fail to provide a rigid enough barrier to confine products to one particular row or may fall down, thus limiting their utility. Further, the permanent or semi-permanent nature of the attachment of the dividers to the shelf makes it difficult to reposition the dividers in these systems to accommodate varying product shapes and sizes. To accomplish such tasks, each divider is manually removed from either the shelf itself or a locating strip, repositioned, and reattached at a new position on the shelf or locating strip. That step can be both time consuming and inconvenient.
There has been a long-standing need in the commercial vendor community for an integrated shelving management system that is able to accommodate products of varying sizes. The present invention addresses this need.